Eagle Connection - May 6-12, 2009

Eagle mascot

Eagle mascot needs new name: vote now

UW-L conducted a contest to select a name for the UW-L Eagle mascot. "Eddie," the winning name, was announced in January after votes were tallied. However, "Eddie" is the registered name of the National Rifle Association (NRA) gun safety mascot and is trademarked. Therefore, UW attorneys say we cannot use "Eddie."

So, we still need a name and your vote. The finalists are:

  • Baldy
  • Edgar
  • Ernie
  • Screech
  • Talon
  • Colbert (honoring TV personality Stephen Colbert, added in response to a petition drive conducted by UW-L students)

Or write-in another name. To vote, go to www.uwlax.edu/name-the-eagle

The contest ends Friday, May 8. Chancellor Joe Gow plans to announce the results Monday, May 11.

UW-L physical activity program for disabled set to expand

Program teams UW-L students and those with disabilities

Photo of students

UW-L college mentors have coordinated physical activity programs for area students in “I Can Do It, You Can Do It,” a physical activity mentoring program for persons with disabilities. This program, “Hoops for All,” was held at the Mathy Center Boys’ and Girls’ Club in La Crosse.

A successful UW-L physical activity and nutrition education program that offers mentors for persons with disabilities will expand through a federal grant.

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office on Disability in Washington, D.C., has awarded the UW-L Center on Disability Health and Adapted Physical Activity a $15,000 grant to expand and evaluate the national “I Can Do It, You Can Do It” (ICDI) initiative in the upcoming year.
ICDI, a physical activity mentoring program for persons with disabilities, pairs a college student mentor with a participant (mentee) for at least two, one-hour physical activity sessions weekly for eight consecutive weeks. The ICDI model was launched in 2004 at UW-L, the first university nationwide to adopt and implement the program. Previous funding came from grants through the General Mills Foundation and the Wisconsin Partnership Program through the UW School of Medicine and Public Health.

“The program offers valuable community-based service learning opportunities for UW-L students from many different backgrounds and majors while providing much needed physical activity and nutrition education for La Crosse and surrounding area residents with disabilities,” explains Assistant Professor Manny Felix. “Many faculty throughout campus encourage their students to participate in this program to enhance their professional and personal growth.”

The UW-L student mentors volunteer the same way they would for Big Brothers-Big Sisters. Orientations present program requirements and formal training prepares students to work with persons with disabilities.

Following training, college students meet program staff, parents and mentees to plan a physical activity program that meets the abilities, needs and interests of participants. Mentees range in age from 5-48 and have a variety of cognitive, physical, behavioral, and/or sensory disabilities.

Currently more than 100 mentors and mentees are active in the program, offered free of charge. Participants access numerous community facilities such as the YMCA, UW-L Recreational Eagle Center, Boys and Girls Club, bowling alleys, parks, walking/jogging trials, and other physical activity venues. Equipment checked out from UW-L and occasional large group wellness activities, planned by UW-L staff, create fun and meaningful physical activity participation, says Felix.

Interactive nutrition education workshops are also provided for the UW-L mentors and the mentees, along with the mentees’ parents or guardians. Participants receive awards when they reach program goals at the end of eight-week sessions.

The initiative is one of the many community service programs offered by the Center on Disability Health and Adapted Physical Activity. ICDI started at UW-L in 2005 with nine pairs. Since, it has provided physical activity and nutrition education to hundreds of participants with all types of disabilities, their families, and college student mentors.

The new grant will provide external funding to enhance professional preparation experiences for UW-L students and their mentees, says Professor Garth Tymeson, who heads the program with Felix. The one-year grant project is affiliated with Slippery Rock (Pa.) University. Sessions will follow the UW-L academic calendar during the spring, summer and fall 2009 semesters. The sessions will include about 60 UW-L mentors and 60 persons with disabilities.

Feedback from the program’s first three years reveals a great deal of community acceptance and satisfaction, says Tymeson. “UW-L students serve as outstanding mentors and physical activity role models in this program,” he notes. “The many positive parent testimonials we hear serve as one type of evidence of the program’s success.”

Those interested in the program may contact Tymeson at 785.5415 or tymeson.gart@uwlax.edu, or Felix at 785.8691 or felix.emma@uwlax.edu.

For more information about ICDC, visit www.hhs.gov/od/physicalfitness.html. For details about the UW-L program visit www.uwlax.edu/sah/ess/mentor.

AMA Blood Drive is May 6

The American Marketing Association holds a blood drive with Blood Center of Wisconsin from 1-6 p.m. Wednesday, May 6, in the Mitchell Hall South Gym. To schedule an appointment to donate, visit https://portal.bcw.edu/sites/mobapt/default.aspx?key=150156133233 and enter Drive Number DRV0098894.

Dione Colares
Dione Colares is the featured soloist at the May 7 concert.

Last symphony orchestra concert of the year includes music from the movies, Brazilian songs

"From the Amazon to Hollywood" is the theme of UW-L Symphony Orchestra's final concert of the academic year.

Music Director Enaldo Oliveira will direct the Masterworks Concert Series IV performance at 7:30 p.m. Thursday, May 7, in Valhalla, Cartwright Center-Gunning Addition. Dione Colares, a soprano and artistic director for the Amazon Opera Festival in Belem, Brazil, is the featured vocalist at the free concert.

The orchestra will perform a variety of songs from familiar movies, including the "Theme from Jurassic Park" and the "Theme from Schindler's List" by John Williams. "Symphony Suite from the Lord of the Rings" by Howard Shore is another work audiences may recognize.

Complementing tunes from popular U.S. movies are two pieces from Brazilian Composer Waldemar Henrique, as well as four songs using the folklore of the Amazon region composed to shows performed in Cassinos in Rio de Janeiro.

Colares' visit is sponsored by a UW-L Visiting Scholar/Artist of Color grant.

Tanzania photo exhibit opening reception is May 8

An opening night reception for the "Every Picture Tells a Story: Tanzania" photo exhibit begins at 7 p.m. Friday, May 8, at Java Detour, 123 West Ave. N. Learn about the project and the Reality Tour from January 2009 Study Tour students who traveled to Tanzan during J-Term. See also www.uwlax.edu/universityrelations/campusconnection/2009/spring/february/16/index.html#tanzania.

Retirement reception for Joyce Pillsbury is May 14

A retirement reception for Joyce Pillsbury will be held from 3-5 p.m. Thursday, May 14, in Port O' Call, Cartwright Center-Gunning Addition. Pillsbury, an academic department associate in communication studies, will retire Friday, May 15. She has worked at UW-L for 20 years.

Academic Advising Corner

 

 

 

 

Word has it!

The answers to last week’s puns are queer beer, old gold, dumb thumb, cruel jewel and shy spy.

This will be the last installment of "Word" has it for this semester. I hope you have found these inclusions both educational and entertaining. I will conclude on a light note with puns. (For the answers scroll past my name). Good luck in your finals and have a wonderful summer!

  • aching portal ...
  • corpulent feline ...
  • relaxed hangman’s rope ...
  • arid pastry ...
  • lifeless fiber ...

By Academic Specialist Charlene Holler, Counseling and Testing Center

sore door, fat cat, loose noose, dry pie and dead thread.

Kudos

 

 

 

Math students earn high rankings on solutions to real-world problems using mathematics

This February, five teams of UW-L students participated in an international mathematical modeling contest competing against over 2,000 teams from 16 countries. Two UW-L teams earned "meritorious" ratings on their submissions, putting them in the top 107 papers worldwide and top 47 papers in the U.S. on their respective problems. 

Students, working in teams of three, were asked to provide solutions to open-ended real-world problems using mathematics. Teams had 96 hours (four days) to develop a model, test their model, analyze their results and prepare a complete written report explaining their findings. A judging committee rated papers on readability, appropriate use of methods, and overall effectiveness of the paper.

Only six U.S. institutions fielded more teams than UW-L, and only 10 received more meritorious rankings. UW-L's rating surpasses the totals of some notable schools, including Princeton, Stanford, Duke and Carnegie Mellon. Participating students included Yanan Chen, Hoang Vo, Joey Goldman, Raymond Leach, Valentine Sackmann, Matt Cocchiola, Vince Zander, Joe Lanska, Ali Khalili, Chintan Modi, Sam Chen, Trevor Oswald, Eric Bartels, Amanda Welter and Marsha Swatosh.

More accolades

Softball and women's and men's outdoor track and field teams all won Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (WIAC) championships. This is the first WIAC championship for the softball team, while our men's and women's track teams won their, respective, 45th and 25th overall conference titles.

Curt Czerwinski, Rob McGaff, Paul Miller and Laura Roessler, all chemistry; won the corporate team relay at the La Crosse Marathon May 3 in just over three hours and 47 minutes.

Educational Studies Department Associate Professor Robert Richardson received the Educator of the Year Award from the La Crosse Chapter of the Phi Delta Kappa professional association.

Sociology/Archaeology Professor Vincent Her received the 2009 Teacher of the Year Award at the 14th Annual Hmong National Conference Program April 3-5 in Appleton. The Hmong National Development’s Community Leadership Awards recognize the dedication of Hmong community members to further developing their communities.

Continuing Education

 

 

Trauma and Recovery, a two-day conference, features sessions exploring traumas related to sexual violence, domestic violence, combat and other life-changing experiences. The program is Friday and Saturday, May 8 and 9, at the Radisson Hotel and is open to all. To register or for more information call 785.6508.

Murphy Library

 

 

 

Historical maps of La Crosse County online

Online maps that reveal how La Crosse County changed over time are now online. This unique collection includes maps from the mid-1800s up to 1987. It includes plat (ownership), highway, soil and topographic maps for the county; maps of the city of La Crosse including zoning, parks and street maps; maps of other La Crosse County municipalities; and selected pre- and post-lock and dam charts and maps of the Upper Mississippi River. These online maps provide a visual perspective of the rich history of the area from the days of logging to the post-lock and dam system on the Mississippi River. See the collection at http://digicoll.library.wisc.edu/WI/subcollections/LaCrosseLocHistAbout.html.

The collection, “Maps and Atlases of La Crosse County, Wisconsin, and the Upper Mississippi River,” represents a joint effort between UW-L's Murphy Library and the La Crosse Public Library. Anita Doering, archivist at La Crosse Public Library, worked with her husband, William Doering, library systems and technology/cataloging librarian at Murphy Library, to secure a Library Services and Technology Act grant for $5,500 and to digitize the maps.

The collection focuses on maps that are oversize and, therefore, difficult and expensive to digitize. The maps are hosted online at the University of Wisconsin Digital Collections site, which provides a secure, long-term platform that allows users to browse and search the collection and provides software that allows people to view the oversized maps on regular computer screens.

La Crosse Public Library and Murphy Library have a long-standing cooperative relationship in regard to the digitization of local history content. Winner of the 2005 Wisconsin Library Association/Highsmith Award, their La Crosse History Unbound http://lacrossehistory.org Web site has helped many local history students, researchers and genealogists.

Oral defense

 

 

 

Mary Patrek, master's in exercise and sport science candidate, “The Effects of Hip Abductor Fatigue on Single Leg Landing Mechanics,” 2 p.m., Wednesday, May 6, 2010 Health Science Center. Adviser: Tom Kernozek.

Classified

 

 

 

For sale

Four-bedroom, two-bath home, new plumbing, updated electrical, major renovations on 95-year-old beauty. Fewer than 10 minutes from campus. Call Billy at 796.2288 for more info. www.remax-firstchoice-onwi.com/newsearch/detail.php?mls=1074191&page=0-20&agent_id=l34480&city=&state=&adress=2123+CASS.

La Crosse Area Family YMCA Semester Membership, $125 value, yours for $60. Membership is valid to Dec. 31. Membership includes: free group exercise classes, free one-on-one wellness center consultations, locker rooms and towel service, cardio equipment and strength training circuit, gymnasium and pool. Call Jeff Steele at 920.382.9773.

Snapper self-propelled lawn mower, 6.5 HP Briggs & Stratton Engine, 21 inch cutting width, mulching blade, $150, Keith 785.8292 or 779.4177.

New and used assorted clone drivers and fairway woods. Prices $30-$65. Call Bob at 781.3695 after 6 p.m.

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